The Cosi swimsuit

Monday, 14 July 2014

I have a confession to make... I am intimidated by stretchy fabrics. I love them, but I get anxious sewing with stretch fabrics. Which might sounds a little funny since the very first thing I made for my daughter was a T-shirt! I have made a few outfits from knit fabrics since, but my anxiety did not go away.

When Suz first published about her Cosi swimsuit I decided I was going to get the pattern once it was released and tackle my fear head on. And then Suz asked if I would be interested to participate in her blog tour! I was so excited, and at the same time I felt like my anxiety doubled. I have huge respect for Suz, and I was so worried I would not be able to make a swimsuit and let her down!

To keep a long story short, While she was sleeping I made a new swimsuit for Little Monkey using the Cosi Swimsuit pattern by Sewpony Vintage. To say that I am proud of it would be an understatement!

You may have heard people say how sewing swimmers is actually not that scary. I never believed that. Until I tried it! I would not go as far as to say it is the easiest thing to sew. I say it is achievable. Really. Even for someone like myself, who is intimidated by stretchy fabrics. Suz has put an incredible amount of work in this pattern. Before I started sewing I read the instructions, and let me tell you they are very comprehensive.

Little Monkey has been going to swimming lessons since she was 5 months old. My daughter is custom built. She is tall and skinny. Finding ready-made swimmers that suit her well was a challenge. Not anymore! The Cosi swimsuit pattern comes in sizes 6 months to 10 years, there are 7 views to choose from, so I seriously can't imagine having to buy a swimsuit for Little Monkey any time soon. Custom built little swimmers deserve custom made swimsuits!

Little Monkey is wearing Cosi in view C, minus leg ruffles. I used polyester knit fabric (95% polyester, 5% elastine). I spotted it at my local Spotlight right next to the fabric Suz used for her first swimsuit. That is how I knew I was in the right isle!

Little Monkey loves this fabric because 'it has all the colours'. Who can argue with that!

To be honest with you, I made one and a half Cosies for Little Monkey. I started sewing the first one on my sewing machine. I hopelessly stretched elastic around the leg openings. I must have not pinned it well, and it 'wiggled' all over the place while I sewed it. I could not bring myself to put it on Little Monkey, so I started again.

I took my time sewing the Cosi swimsuit again. This time I sewed it on my overlocker. I just disabled the upper knife when it came to sewing in elastic. I only used my sewing machine for top-stitching and adjustable straps. In my experience it worked much better. I basted elastic around the leg opening and at the top by hand before sewing it in place, and it made a huge difference.

What I especially love about this pattern is the way it fits around the legs. No more swimwear wedges! I also love the cross back straps option. It is especially handy if your child grows towards the sun quicker that in any other direction! I usually find cross-back straps hold the swimsuit in place really well so my little swimmer can focus on her lesson rather than adjusting her swimmers.

It doesn't look like the swimsuit fits Little Monkey very well in the photos. I just didn't adjust the straps enough. My hands are always freezing in winter, and Little Monkey didn't want my cold hands on her back. She was wiggling and squirming so much adjusting her swimsuit became impossible. It was not a battle I could win.

Suz is offering 15% discount on the Cosi swimsuit during the pattern tour (7-18 July) with the coupon code COSITOUR14.

Thank you Suz for having me on the tour and for providing me with an opportunity to finally tackle my fears. I actually want to sew with knits more now!

Thank you Marisa! This was the first time we took pics for the blog inside. It was the first sunny day in ages! I turned the heater up higher than usual for a while, and the whole thing only took maybe 5 minutes! LM was not in the mood to be modelling and just stood there looking grumpy, until I brought her balloon and we started playing while daddy was taking pics. I definitely prefer taking photos outside, but one has to do what one has to do :)

Thank you very much Joy :) I actually really enjoyed the process, even though I had to start again and went really slowly. Actually, maybe I enjoyed making it because I took it slow? No rush = less anxiety?

Thank you Penya :) I love bright colours on kids. I prefer to go fabric shopping together with Little Monkey. She knows what she likes, so I just let her choose. I was shopping by myself the day I bought fabric for her swimmers, so it was a bit of a gamble, but she loved it! Phew :)

Oh thank you :) I used fabric from my local fabric chain store, it was on special, so I only paid about $6 for 1 1/2 m! I googled Kaffe Fassett fabrics, and boy, I do love them! And I found the print that looks similar (the same?) Are the prices scary? I never pay much for fabrics. I am regular at the remands bin and usually shop during sales. I can only remember paying full price for fabric twice in nearly three years - not a bad effort!